How Much is This Clutter Worth?

The video is an interesting examination of the American culture of clutter. Why do we feel so compelled to collect so much stuff?

I have been using the newly launched (on iOS) eBay Mobile app to turn the clutter in my house into cash. Itâ€™s lots of fun. I list things while I’m cleaning the house. So when I watched this video, “A Cluttered Life: Middle-Class Abundance“ from the University of California TV,Â Â I saw dollar signs all over the clutter in these peopleâ€™s houses. Cha ching! (That’s also the noise the app makes when I sell something. I love that noise.) But the families theseÂ archaeologistsÂ examined are hording it! Stop hording. Sell!

1 thought on “How Much is This Clutter Worth?”

Your post got me thinking about one of the lessons I learned in clearing out my mom’s house after she passed away, and preparing my own house for sale. Each square foot of housing or garage or storage has a price tag associated with it. Divide the value of your home with its square footage, and consider the taxes, utilities and other costs of maintaining a house. Even apart from the value of the bike if you sell it, that old bicycle might be “costing” you $100 just by sitting there!

Of course you are right that you can sell the objects and that puts the money in your pocket. I personally found it difficult to sell some items, but very easily donated and gifted them. I enjoyed knowing that the things would be appreciated and useful to other people.

The flip side of that, is that when you have fewer things, the value to you of the items you do keep goes up. You appreciate your old yo-yo collection more when it is proudly displayed on the living room wall. 🙂

I like your plan of turning your old objects into a fun cruise! That will be a terrific reward for your efforts! Good luck with your clear out project!